10-09-2002, 11:32 PM
[size 4]Scooter, the wipers I have seen and heard of being caught are definitley not mature fish. There have been many discussions on the fate of the wiper and its reduced size and numbers. I have wondered if the wipers just didnt school up as good this year due to the lack of shad, I have wondered if the raised limit took too many fish out of the water, maybee a bad winter kill and low oxegen levels over the past couple years, took care of the older fish, and I too have wondered if the bigger fish go out on thier own. What ever the reason, fish numbers, size, and the ammount of boils are way down this year. Some of us boys who have been fishing willard for a long time have seen old standard patterns like the reliable spring fishing go from wall to wall anglers, down to non existent. The good size boils of the past are gone, and where a guy could go out and have fifty fish days for three weeks straight, now you may hear of one or two guys in a year getting that lucky. If the fish and game is right, and I believe they are, the future of willard is in the shad. The wipers feed on them, the walleye feed on them, and if the shad are in poor situation, then so are the rest. If you are catching mature fish, I need to go out with you because I have not caught one in two years.[/size]